Common Share Repurchases

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Common Share Repurchases disclosure

Common Share Repurchases disclosure [Text Block]

8. COMMON SHARE REPURCHASES

During the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company repurchased 7.3 million and 20.8 million shares, respectively, under its share repurchase authorization, for a total cost of $750 million and $2.15 billion, respectively.  The average cost per share repurchased was $102.81 and $103.48, respectively.  At September 30, 2015, the Company had $4.33 billion of capacity remaining under its share repurchase authorization.  In addition, the Company acquired 5,768 and 0.7 million shares for a total cost of $0.6 million and $73 million during the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively, that were not part of the publicly announced share repurchase authorization.  These shares consisted of shares retained to cover payroll withholding taxes in connection with the vesting of restricted stock awards and shares used by employees to cover the exercise price of certain stock options that were exercised.